Survey: Meryl Streep Thanked More Than God at Oscars

Share

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

A recent survey suggests actress Meryl Streep, who has been nominated for 18 Oscars during her 35-year career, is thanked more in the acceptance speeches of fellow actors than God. The survey comes as the film industry's awards show fast approaches on March 2.

The recent survey, conducted by Slate magazine, finds that out of the 47 individual Oscar winners since 2002, Streep has been thanked four times, while God has only been thanked three times. Additionally, television personality Oprah Winfrey and Sidney Poitier have each been thanked twice. Poitier, an actor and a director, was the first black person to win an Oscar in 1963.

Streep, 64, has won three Oscars during her acting career and been nominated a staggering 18 times, more than any other actor or actress in the history of the awards show.

The Slate magazine survey also found that directors are commonly thanked, with 42 mentions in the past dozen years, and the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is thanked, with 32 nods. Family members also receive a hefty amount of thanks, with spouses being mentioned 25 times and children, 21 times. The survey shows screenwriters have been thanked 19 times in the past 12 years.

As Slate mentions, although there is sparse mention of God in acceptance speeches, award winners often refer to their directors as being other-worldly, as seen when actor Christoph Waltz referred to Director Quentin Tarantino as "the Creator."

As the Oscars fast approach, movie-lovers are casting bets on who they think will walk home with the most coveted awards in the film industry. Enertainment Weekly recently issued a prediction for all 24 categories of the awards show, naming Cate Blanchett from "Blue Jasmine" and Lupita Nyong'o for her role in "12 Years a Slave" as frontrunners.

Nyong'o, a rookie to the awards show and a favorite contender by film critics, told DuJour Magazine in a recent interview that her life has drastically changed due to all the attention she has received in recent weeks for her "12 Years a Slave" role.

"My life changed about three weeks ago," she said. "That's when my schedule went from nil to this." Nyong'o went on to say that she had no expectation of getting her role in "12 Years a Slave," and was shocked and nervous when she first learned she had landed the major acting opportunity.

"When I learned Steve McQueen was directing and Brad Pitt was producing, I thought, well, this is huge. I had no expectation of getting the role at all; it was just too out there for me to think I had a chance," she said. "So I approached the audition like a rehearsal. It was my chance to have that role for 10 minutes, and I owned it. Then I got the part and the panic began."